His Masters Voice (standard:non fiction, 317 words)
Author: J. Nicklaus	Added: Feb 10 2006	Views/Reads: 3490/4	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Quick thoughts from a school orchestra concert.

The shimmering flutter of a gossamer vibrato, the shrill tempest of an
out-of-tune violin or cello. One, honey to the ears, soft as the flap 
of butterfly wings, the other, by contrast, heart-breaking. While 
entirely wrong to impose the expectation of professionals upon early 
teens, you can't help but hope for something close-or, at least, within 
ear-shot. 

They don't have it in their young abilities to exude the flowing grace
and lilt of what we expect, what we've been conditioned to hear; 
Debussy's Claire De Lune in all it's softness and subtlety, Rossini's 
William Tell Overture with its almost subliminal gallop and quick 
arpeggios, or Bach's Air on the G string, evocative of  sadness, 
despair, and yet calming. 

And so it goes with aspiring musicians who strain to accomplish that
which is just barely beyond their reach. But isn't that how we all grow 
and learn. Practice what is fresh, even that which is old, to better 
understand the new; stumble a bit, trip over our own blissful 
incompetence, the wiser of us eventually bolstering our self-esteem and 
confidence when we become the master, outwitting the aching pupil. 

It seems to take forever to graduate from scales and boring, detached
notation, to the excitment of pizzicato or the drama of ponticello--but 
we can't get to one without the other. There is no shadow without 
light.We can't possibly appreciate the delight and range of Mozart's 
Allegro in Eine Kleine Nachtmusik without the veiled fogginess of 
Pachelbel's Canon in D Major -- or the timeless haunt of Ave Maria. 

Those few who choose to sit upon the orchestral stage are blessed from
the beginning, for their journey with and through classical music will 
teach them not only their craft, but resonate, without their knowledge, 
through every day of their lives. 

Art does indeed imitate life. If ever one needed proof, simply watch our
children through the masters' ears. 

###


Tweet